Dear Friends,
We are in training.
By running and training yourself every day, you are in a much better condition to run in a road race. Likewise, the more often you come into the presence of the Lord in prayer, the greater confidence and freedom it will bring to you!
No doubt by praying we learn to pray. The more often we pray, the easier it becomes and the better we get at it. He who just prays when he has to or at a meal should not be surprised that he suffers ineffectual and infervent prayers.
Prayer is good. The habit of prayer is better but the Spirit of prayer is best of all. It is in the Spirit of prayer that we pray without ceasing, and this can never be acquired by the man who ceases to pray.
As we watch the 2016 Rio Olympics, it is amazing what distances, speed and endurance these female and male athletes can attain. Many of us have desired to be able to run like them but few of us are willing to take the time to train like them. Practice, repetition, discipline is what it takes to be an Olympic champion.
How much more for the Christian and their prayer life. It also requires practice, repetition, and discipline to learn how to pray effectively.
What about you? Are you growing in your prayer life, both privately and publicly? Are you, like Christ’s disciples, asking the Lord to teach you to pray? Why not consider training with us at our Wednesday evening or this Friday’s Prayer Watch?

“Long as they live should Christians pray, for only while they pray,
they live.”

[Adapted from C.H. Spurgeon’s Comments on Prayer from a “Puritan’s Garden”.]

The writer of Ecclesiastes stated so eloquently that, “God has set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This really had me thinking the other day so here are some of my thoughts.
Sometimes I have heard individuals talk of a “vacuum” or “hole” that exists inside of them. They attempt to fill this void with “things”, relationships, drugs, sex, etc. It may appear that they are satisfied but it is only temporary and the emptiness returns.
I am reminded of Nicodemus, the Pharisee, who came to see Jesus one evening. He was a teacher of Israel and he had questions in his heart. Jesus stated to him very clearly, “unless a person is born again, he cannot ever see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Jesus was indicating that a spiritual rebirth must take place within an individual for eternity in the heart to be realized. Jesus went on to explain to Nicodemus that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The conclusion is this: the way to find out about eternity in the heart of man is by receiving the Son of God and Savior of mankind. The Gospel of Luke states “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his soul” (Luke 9:25). It seems to me that we as fallen human beings have a tendency to “fill up” our lives with things of this world in an attempt to fill our emptiness that only Christ can fill.
Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” (John 4:14). “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry” (John 6:35).
Jesus still invites you and me to come to Him and find our eternity in our hearts

Subversive
by
Ed Stetzer

The author begins by showing the readers that Jesus came to the this earth “appearing as a baby in a Bethlehem manger, born in obscurity to humble parents, raised as the son of a poor carpenter in the back waters of the Roman Empire”. His first thirty years, we know very little, not much by way of public attention. At the age of thirty, he begins to declare that the Kingdom of God has come. He did not march on Rome with a group of zealots; he did not write a political manifesto. He simply announced the Kingdom is here (Matthew 4:17).
He told his selected few disciples that the “knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven have been given to you” (Matthew 13:11). In essence, Jesus was telling His disciples that he was the “Secret” to understanding the Kingdom of God and experiencing His Presence and Power!
Stetzer writes, “God in Christ reaching down to the broken and lost world, rescuing them from bondage, and transferring them into God’s Kingdom of Light – the gospel is not merely the story of the Bible and the only hope for hopeless mankind. It is indeed the grandest expression of God’s mission. And God’s mission needs to be our mission.”
Stetzer continues with some very thought provoking statements about kingdom living or the Christian “Subversive” lifestyle. “If it is God’s mission then it should also be the Church’s mission. It should orient our schedule and priorities. It should dictate our activities and why we do them” (page 166). But does it?
Stetzer has this to say about Christ’s Church and His Kingdom: “Some people talk as if the Church isn’t necessary to this endeavor anymore, that it no longer applies to His plan and mission to the same degree it once did. People say, “God is at work outside the Church” – and yes, He is. People say, “The Kingdom is bigger than the Church” – and yes, it is. People say, “The Kingdom of God is not the Church” – and no, it is not. The ministry of the Gospel has been designed “so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the Church (Ephesians 3:10). The Church, therefore, remains His central tool. For accomplishing the subversive Kingdom’s agenda (page 169).
I highly recommend this book to serious disciples of Jesus Christ who are not content with just saying that he/she is a Christian but wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. They desire instead to be [part of a subversive kingdom, being an agent of change in their world.

“Revolution in World Missions”
by K.P. Yohannan

It was early January 2016 and I was preparing to leave for India. It would be my fourth trip to this amazing nation. I stumbled across a book, “Revolution in World Missions”, in my home library. My son, Jesse, had read the book in 2010 before going into China and Hong Kong as a missionary of sorts. K.P. Yohannan, author of this book, is also the founder of Gospel for Asia which is one of the largest and most efficiently run missionary movements in the world.

During my most recent trip to India, while preaching the Gospel at a crusade in the southeastern part of the country, I heard the name of a national missionary evangelist, Jesu-Das.  K.P. had shared a fascinating story about Jesu-Das in his book on pages 21-22. At the end of the crusade, I approached the young Indian evangelist who had just preached the Gospel so passionately. I asked him if he was aware that this story was in K.P. Yohannan’s book. He seemed a bit confused by my question.   After I explained further, he stated humbly that the story is true and authentic but he was unaware that it was in a book.   This only put greater weight on the main theory of Yohannan’s book.

In the book, K.P. challenges believers in the West to re-think what is the best way to support the growing church and advancing God’s kingdom in India and throughout Asia. Having been to the nation of India four times, I felt as though I had a somewhat unique perspective on K.P.’s premise that the most effective way we can support the Christian movement in India and throughout Asia is through the wealth and blessings God has bestowed upon us in the Western world.  This is a very challenging word for many of us!

I have seen first hand how God has and is continuing to raise up national missionaries from within these nations. They are far more productive in reaching the “unreachables” in their own nation. They speak the language. They know the customs. The can handle the rigors of Indian travel and food much better than most western Christians.  K.P. Yohannan suggests strongly the call to actively support these nationals from our wealth and abundance.   I wholeheartedly agree! That is not to say that American Christians cannot go to other countries to encourage our brothers, offer medical clinics, or provide some specialized training or service projects. But more than anything else, they need our financial support.

Let’s do our homework and research different missions, such as Gospel for Asia, Compassion International, Samaritans Purse, and Hope Ministries International.  After we do so and are comfortable, let us invest in their ministry by being faithful stewards of God’s blessings by supporting national missionaries to preach the Gospel to their own people.

Whether you have a heart for missions or really do not have much of an interest at all, I definitely recommend you read this book!  Once you do, you will not – cannot stay the same!

“If only a small percentage of the 80 million people who claim to be born-again Christians in this country were to sponsor a national missionary, we could have literally hundreds of thousands of evangelists reaching the lost villages of Asia.” (Page 95 from “Revolution in World Missions”)

Pastor Greg Di Meolo

          Roger Kruse, an OMS (One Mission Society) missionary to India, recently shared in one of our September Sunday services that there is a distinct difference between joy and happiness.  Joy comes from God and happiness is dependent upon one’s circumstances in this life.

 Roger mentioned Seven Keys to Finding Joy in life’s journey.  I woulds like to take a moment to share these with you!

1.  Stop with the complaining and grumbling.  Roger quoted writer, Thoreau as saying, “most people live lives in great desperation”.  Let us learn to be intentional with thanksgiving and gratitude.  Lack of thankfulness is not healthy!
2. Share God’s gifts.  Be a giver not just a receiver.  Be a cheerful giver as described in II Corinthians 9:7.
3. Learn to serve in God’s kingdom.  It is not just about knowing but it is about doing and serving.  When we obey His commands, there will be joy (John 14:15, 21).
4. Tell your story.  Be His witness and tell your story of God’s amazing grace that saved and rescued you.
5. Trust God’s purpose for your life.    Believe God’s promises to you, such as, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28).
6. Rest in God’s love and grace.  God’s purpose and will for you are rooted in His amazing love for you!  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)
7. Sing God’s praises.  Lift up your voice in thanksgiving and praise!  “Singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  (Colossians 3;16).

Have you ever wondered how the great Apostle Paul and Silas, after having been attacked by a violent crowd, then publicly beaten with rods  with “many blows”, than placed in a prison with their legs and hands bound, could sing hymns to God?  They gave thanks and praise to God even after being beaten and imprisoned (See Acts 16:22-25).  Their joy no longer was dependent on the outward circumstances.  They had come to realize the difference between the joy of being right with God and happiness which is dependent totally on ones circumstances.

Discover this joy that can be found in a right relationship with God. through His Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord (II Corinthians 5:21).

“The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice”  (Philippians 4:4).